Is this the death of the influencer?

"The Fat Jewish", one of the most popular pro-Instagrammers in the world with over 10 million followers, has declared the end is nigh for influencers (cue: hundreds of thousands of sun-kissed Insta-baes crying into their skinny teas).

The provocative meme-creator (and sometimes stealer), 36, whose real name is Josh Ostrovsky, has this advice for aspiring Insta-stars: Get a real job.

Josh Ostrovsky, aka "The Fat Jewish", believes the end is nigh for influencers.Credit:AP

"Everybody's just like, 'Wait. I could go out and like hold those like hair enhancement gummies' or 'I can go out and like hold a product, and I can make money.' I just think people need to learn how to actually build things from the ground up" he told CNN.

"Eventually there will be too many influencers, the market will be too saturated and the value of influencer posts will continue to plummet," continued the man who became rich and famous on Instagram and is now using that same platform to promote his "real job", White Girl Rosé.

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But Ostrovsky may be on to something.

Most recently in Australia, Holden became one of the first big names (on record anyway) to re-evaluate its marketing strategy when it comes to influencers.

The brand is said to be seeking more authenticity, moving away from aesthetically pleasing people posing with cars in product placement-type posts for likes. Such posts were boosting brand-awareness (but honestly, who doesn't know what a Holden is?) but not translating into sales.

As the saying goes: "Being famous on Instagram is like being rich in Monopoly."

While they wouldn't specify who they cut, some of the better known influencers, Myer ambassador Kris Smith and former My Kitchen Rules star Ash Pollard, haven't been seen in a Holden since.

And they are not the only ones.

It was noted that IWC, the Swiss luxury watch brand, didn't have many influencers at a recent Sydney event. One of the biggest advertisers in the world, Unilever, that owns the likes of Lynx, Dermalogica, Dove and Rexona, has taken a stand against influencers who buy followers. While Longines recently had a sudden departure with their "friend of the brand" Shaun Birley.

In a report carried out by UK-based digital content marketing agency, Zazzle Media, of 10,000 British marketers not one planned to focus on influencer marketing over a 12 month time span.

Sammy Robinson is a lifestyle influencer.

But it's not time to start writing obituaries, according to Mitch Catlin, a senior marketing consultant to brands. He says that "social media is now an intrinsic part of the media space" and that at the moment influencers are going through a "shift, just like magazines and newspapers had to do".

"It comes down to the authenticity question. People won't engage on the level you want if they think it is fake and you are promoting a brand for money rather than because you believe in it. It must be authentic for cut-through," Catlin told Fairfax Media.

Case in point with "friend" of Dior Jesinta Franklin, a high-end influencer and healthy eating and living advocate. Last year, not long after she spoke about being on a three-month sugar ban as she prepared to walk the David Jones runway, she copped a swift and severe backlash for signing an ambassador role with Cadbury for a reported $200,000 in which she declared herself "officially a chocoholic". The union was so off-brand it lasted just five months.

Jesinta Franklin promoting Cadbury on the Today Show.Credit:Today

"Integrity" is something James Want wrote about at length last year on his men's lifestyle website, The Versatile Gentleman.

"This whole space has turned into a vacuous black hole of shameless promotion, both of products and self. Credibility isn't even a thing anymore, and influencers out there admit it," he wrote.

He told Fairfax Media: "It's about being transparent ... Influencers are taking the money and are not concerning themselves with their audience."

It's a stance that has been accused by some of being hypocritical given that as recently as two weeks ago he promoted a cologne that was gifted to him and multiple other men's publications without stating where the product came from.

Not dead yet

Is "the death of the influencer" just something other influencers say when they are no longer the centre of attention?

"The end is definitely not nigh," said Roxy Jacenko, who works on both sides of the coin as a PR and an influencer with over 220,000 followers.

"The fact is social media platforms have become the new super power for advertising and will continue to grow, in my opinion.

Roxy Jacenko works in PR and as an influencer.Credit:Mark Stanley

"What needs to happen and what is happening is that better analytics and governance of influencers' followings is becoming more and more important. Paying clients are becoming more accustomed to ensuring that their spending on campaigns delivers quantifiable returns on the dollars spent. This means that ensuring the influencers they are spending money on actually have the following they represent."

Being famous on Instagram is like being rich in Monopoly.

The popularity of the likes of authentic influencers like Jacenko, Nicole Warne (aka Gary Pepper Girl) and Sammy Robinson show no signs of abating, while it seems that it's the bottom feeders with fake followers who spout even faker messages are having less cut-through.

Lynette Phillips, CEO of MaxConnectors, a company that manages 53 influencers as well as PR company MaxMediaLab, believes that infuencers are now "bigger than ever".

"According to a statistic that came out of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 60 per cent of millennials say an influencer has changed their life or their view on the world. On the flip side, Forbes reported that 84 per cent of millennials say that they don't trust traditional forms of advertising ... Word of mouth, reviews and social proof are the most trusted source of information. Fans consume influencers' online content for the same reasons they engage with others face-to-face; they want a personal connection." Phillips said.

Besides, how can influencers ever truly die when they are given status?

In May at MBFWA (an influencers' feeding ground), some fashion editors were placed in the second row while influencers and their boyfriends took up the coveted front row.

They flooded other shows like Camilla, Alice McCall and Acler, but were not as present at the likes of Ten Pieces.

"It comes back to what the brand is trying to achieve," Catlin said.

"One of the upsides to influencers is they react quickly – speed to market. No other media can compete with that. That's their uniqueness."

Catlin added: "You can't predict what is going to happen in three, six or nine months. We are in constant development but the general consensus is: there is a role to play for influencers among traditional marketing like newspapers and TV.

"If you look at some of the biggest brands, they don't put all off their eggs in one basket. They should be using a combination of media."